WARNING: To avoid personal injury or death, disconnect your appliance from its power source before you start any troubleshooting or repair work. Use caution working inside any appliance.

Why is there no hot water?

Check to make sure the unit has power. Hot water dispensers usually run off of 110V outlets. To verify power to the unit, you can plug in a different appliance, such as a hair dryer. If you have no power, check the fuse or circuit breaker.

On many hot water dispensers, there is an overload safety switch. Other models may have an internal fuse that may have blown. To reset an overload switch, simply push it in. Wait 15-20 minutes and check to see if you have hot water. If you have your hot water dispenser plugged in to an outlet, make sure that if the outlet is operated by a switch, that the switch is in the ON position. Perhaps your cold water is still getting heated. Turn the thermostat to the Maximum heat position.

Occasionally, the heating element will burn out. Some models have replaceable heating elements. Check your owner's manual to see if yours is one of them.

When a hot water dispenser is first installed, it may be set to a certain temperature. It initially boils the water, then maintains it at the set temperature. If you want yours hotter or cooler, you can sometimes adjust this setting with a thermostat.

The hot water dispenser will usually boil the water first, and then maintain the temperature at the set point of the thermostat. The altitude at which you live helps determine the air pressure. Low air pressure leads to a lower boiling point for water. Are you in an area of high elevation? If you think the water is boiling, you can lower the thermostat settings on many models.

Sometimes, yes. Many hot water dispenser are thermostatically controlled to go from Off and up to about 190F. It will usually boil the water first, and then maintain the temperature at about 190F. Consult your owner's manual for directions.

As water heats up, it increases in volume by expansion. Sometimes a faucet will drip from the excess pressure. A little may be normal, but if there’s a lot, there’s a problem. Determine exactly where it’s leaking from and proceed from there. Sometimes the water valve packing can go bad or washers can wear out.

If the pressure is suddenly a lot less than you were getting, check for any leaks underneath. If not, turn off the water supply and look for obstructions in the line and valve. Sometimes the faucet screen gets clogged with sediments and particulates or rust. If you think this is the problem, these screens are fairly easy to clean or replace.

Make sure the water supply valve is open and that there are no kinks in the supply line. If you are using a water filter, make sure there is enough water pressure. You should have about 20 psi at the dispenser. Check to make sure the faucet screen is not clogged.

If your water tastes yucky, verify that your water supply line is attached to the cold water supply, not the hot water supply. You may want to add a water filtration system to the supply. Sometimes, if you haven't used the dispenser in several days, three days or more, you will want to purge the system of old water. Hold open the cap for two or three minutes to purge the old water from the tank. Allow it to heat up to the desired temperature, and dispense again. The bad taste should be gone if that was the problem.

If you're going away for three days or more, there is some preventive maintenance that you can take care of before you leave. Turn the temperature control to Off, unplug the power supply, and turn the faucet cap to open and run it until the water runs out cold. Now, turn the water supply off. Some manufacturers have specific procedures for you to follow about removing the dispenser itself and draining it. Consult your owner's manual. You will usually want to leave the unit and the water supply to it turned off until you return.